Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 23:53:01 -0400
From: Jerry <jerryli@systec.com>
Subject: Arin 9

The following story contains scenes of boys having sex with other boys
and/or men, depending on what I decided on by the time I got around to
writing it. ;) It is science fiction and fantasy, and as such contains
things which simply don't happen in real life. If your imagination is
not good, you won't enjoy it very much. As for the sex thing, if this stuff
is against your personal moral codes, don't read it. If there's anything
you don't understand, ask your parents or friends or whoever you think will.
If you like the story, feel free to write me a letter at jerryli@systec.com.

You're allowed to do anything you like with my story with the following
exceptions:

1. You may not place it on a system which charges people to read it unless you
   request permission from me first. I have no problem giving you
   permission, but    there will be a slight one-time fee. ;)

2. You may not post alterations to the story, or write sequels to it,
   without my permission.

Happy reading!

=====================================================================

Chapter 41

    I sat in the hallway of the church, crying as if the entire Stirovinoj
River were flowing from my head. See, as a magic-user, I knew something
about demonic possession. I knew that when taken over, the mind of the host
is still alive and aware. Somewhere inside that head, behind those
painfully familiar eyes, Cedra still lived.

    I didn't know how he felt towards me. Did he understand that what
happened to him was my fault? Did he resent me for it? I couldn't bear the
thought of him, trapped in his own head while that demon controlled his
body, opened his memory like a book, decided what he looked at and what
sounds he focused on. I had one choice, one thing I could do for Cedra to
prove my love for him.

    I had to kill him.

    That realization should have made me crawl further into my shell. But
strangely enough, it helped me regain my composure. It gave me a purpose. I
wasn't about to sit around feeling sorry for myself when my lover was a
prisoner of pain and torment.

    As the others approached me, I stood up, wiped the last of the tears
from my eyes, and threw forth a facade of bounciness and jubilation. "Well,
let's go get this amulet", I said.

    "Right", Tyrin smiled, looping a large backpack over his shoulder.

    "You're coming?", I inquired, a little more angrily than I had
expected.  Not that I had anything personally against Tyrin, but he *was*
the man who told me about what had happened to Cedra. He was also a priest,
a constant reminder of the beliefs that Cedra held dear. And there was
another reason... a *familiarity* that Tyrin had to him. Where had I seen
him before? I closed my eyes. I saw Cedra's face, in a devillish grin,
saying "You have to know what to see." And I felt a dawn of
understanding...

    But then it was gone, and I was looking at Tyrin's solemn face, nodding
in answer to my question. "Yes, the Amulet has been a passion of mine for a
long time. I'm interested in witnessing it's recovery."

    I turned my head to Tarus, who shrugged. "He knows things that we can
only guess at... he's an expert on the Amulet. And besides...", he trailed
off, not finishing his thought. He didn't need to. I understood.

    I nodded solemnly. In barely a whisper, I finished for him. "We need
someone who can protect us against Cedra's spells."

    Rath nodded. "Tyrin can reverse most of what Cedra is capable of. At
least, what he *was* capable of before Rynth took him over. We'll have to
expect that there's more to worry about now."

    Tyrin led the group out of town, piecing together from our information
and his knowledge of the area a more direct route to the caves that we
sought. It would now be a matter of days instead of weeks until we reached
our destination.  We were walking through a rainy night with the dirt-paved
road underneath us.  Sparse hills surrounded us in all directions, with
very dense shrubbery.

    Some time in the middle of the night, I became aware of the fact that
we were being followed. A subtle combination of sounds and smells told me
that it was Cedra, but we were still days away from our destination. I
decided to let him think he was succeeding, for the time being, and said
nothing to the group.

    "Well, time to set up camp", Tarus said. "Arin, I assume you want the
first watch tonight?"

    "Yes", I said, nodding casually. "Yes I do."

Chapter 42

    At around four in the morning, whilst everyone was still sound asleep,
I drew my sword and doubled back in the direction that I believed Cedra to
be following from. Sure enough, about fifteen minutes south and to the
west, I encountered a campsite. A small band of dark elven warriors were
pitching up tents, preparing to sleep through the daytime hours. Many an
evil thought came into my head about how easy it would be to expose these
dark elves to the sunlight a few hours later, and watch them writhe in pain
as the rays stabbed through thier nocturnal skin. But no, now was not the
time for guerilla tactics. Now was the time for bravery and honor.

   It didn't take long to spot Cedra. He was one of only two children in
the camp; the other was the Dark Elf boy we had first encountered on the
way to the keep...  Kurl Prachek, was that his name? He and Cedra were
conferring over some kind of drawing in the sand. I considered changing
shape, sneaking over there as a rat or and owl and listening in.

   But Cedra lifted his head, scanning the area. "Excuse me", he said,
getting up and heading my way. I backed away, waiting for him behind the
trees in absolute silence.

   He entered the clearing where I had been standing, gazing around
knowingly - he expected to find *something* here. Who was I to disappoint
him? I stepped out of the shadows, my sword at the ready.

   He smiled at my approach, the evil that flowed within him now plain on
his face.  "Hello lover", he said sarcastically, "I've been expecting
you. Glad to see you're still on your toes, you haven't forgotten how to
guard your perimeter." He drew a sword very similar to mine from the
scabbard at his waist.

   I pushed the sideburns of my hair behind my ears, smiling back at the
monster and edging ever closer. "Yes, well, you always were rather heavy
footed on terrain like this."

   Cedra shook his head, patronizing me. "Ahh, Arin... you know what the
worst part was? Pretending that I loved you. If I'd have known how easily
you would've given it up, I wouldn't have even bothered."

   I raised my weapon, standing now a mere ten feet from him. "That doesn't
work anymore. I know you're not Cedra." With that, I swung my sword down
hard! Cedra raised his sword in defense, and the two clanged against one
another, breaking through the silence of the night.

   He swung around and tried to cut open my flank. I blocked his swing and
jabbed at his stomach. He spun around, deflecting my sword from it's target
and spinning his own weapon around for my head. I ducked the blow and
struck his side with a sharp roundhouse kick.

   "Bottom line is", he said as he brought his sword around for another
swing, "You made me the man I am today." I smashed his swing out of the way
with all my might, and kicked him again, this time in the side of the
head. He fell to his knees. I had him now. I brought my sword up... and
hesitated. I looked down at those eyes, and even seeing the evil that
flowed from them now, they still looked too much like Cedra.

   "You can't do it", he smirked, rising to his feet with his weapon still
lowered. "You can't kill me."

   I looked down at his balls, the ones that only days ago I caressed
gingerly and gently. I looked at them, and I gave them a nice swift kick,
making Cedra...  no, making *Rynth* drop his weapon and clutch Cedra's
balls in pain. He was right about me. I couldn't kill him, not mere days
after making love to him. But as I turned from the crippled figure and
walked away, I mumbled the words I knew to be true in my heart... "Give me
time."

Chapter 43

   I never spoke of that night to the rest of the group. I didn't know what
to say, or how they'd react. Whether they would understand why I let him
live that night.  I already regretted it myself... I had a chance to free
Cedra, and I didn't take it.  Because I didn't want to lose him. Except
that I had already lost him.

   I woke everyone up a few hours before nightfall. I figured it was time
to ditch Cedra's group, and a few hours head start would accomplish that
quite nicely.  We walked through a brumble patch, some old geezer's corn
field, and a small village before winding up back in the wilderness by
nightfall. The village was quaint and amusing, without even a single
two-story building and only one or two shops. Our group could probably have
been sufficient to invade the place and take over.  Three children playing
on the outskirts of the village invited me to join in...  evidently
unconcerned with the fact that I was carrying a sword and travelling with
adults. I smiled at them but politely moved on.

   About an hour into the night, I heard a rustling in the forest patch. I
drew my weapon and turned about, at first convinced that Cedra's group had
somehow caught up to us. But no, this noise was coming from the wrong
direction.

   "Do you hear that?", Tarus asked, his own weapon at the ready. The rest
of us nodded our agreement. I peered off ahead, staying to the shadows of
the night as I had done so many times before. I peered out into the
clearing ahead, and saw a large caravan, with about 5 wagons filled with
soldiers. There must have been seventy of them, at the very least. I
recognized them from my time on the streets with my brother - they were
Pibincram Soldiers, and they were on the wrong side of their borders. What
were they doing here?

   Along the rear of their group was a soldier about my age. His arms and
equipment all looked like they would fit me, and so, an evil idea sprang
into my head. I slipped out of my tunic quickly, dropping it and my
backpack on to the ground of the forest. I undid the straps to my trousers
and britches, quickly dropping them to the ground as well, leaving me naked
and a little bit cold. The stiff wind made my penis jump, springing to life
and shining in the moonlight.

   With very little shame, I stepped out of my hiding place just a little
bit. I picked up a rock and threw it at the boy's foot. It hit it's target
dead on, making the boy's head snap in my direction. It was fun to watch
his jaw drop as he saw me there, naked and glowing in the moonlight. He
cast a brief glance to his fellow soldiers, and then dropped out of
formation and ran over to me. I slipped back into the shadows as he came
near.

   "Where are you going?", another soldier demanded of him. He looked in
confusion for a moment. I shook my head, smiling serenely. This kid was
even more brain dead than I was hoping for.

   "I have to pee!", I called out from the bushes, hoping that the other
soldier didn't know him very well. For my plan to work, he had to be a
nobody in this army - someone I could easily replace.

   The man called back to hurry up, and the boy smiled broadly, jumping
into the woods where I was lying in wait. "Hey", he whispered, looking
around for me, "Where are you?"  I stepped out from the shadows, my right
hand concealed behind my back. I allowed the boy to take in the sight of my
nudity, and took notice as the slight poke in his crotch told me that it
had been more genuine interest than passing curiousity that had led him to
me.

   His mouth dropped wide open, and he gasped, "You're beautiful." I
blushed at the comment, and it made me feel guilty about what I intended to
do. I slinked towards him, struting my hips deliberately with every step,
causing my penis to sway back and forth.  I pulled my arms around him
quickly, successfully keeping the dagger in my hand hidden from his sight
as I embraced him with a warm, passionate kiss.

   With my free hand, I undid the straps holding his breast plate onto his
body. I slipped the armor down softly, to make sure the clanging didn't
alarm his fellow soldiers.  Underneath he had a tunic similar to mine on,
and it didn't take much work to get that off of him too. He stood shirtless
before me, a dark haired boy with a high shrilly voice and a lot of sexual
tension in his loins. He had no idea what lay in store for him.

Chapter 44

   "What's your name?", he asked gently, stroking my sandy red hair and
sighing with absolute pleasure. I brought my eyes straight up to his,
unbuckling his belt and allowing his sword to fall to the ground where he
couldn't easily reach it.

   "Doesn't matter", I said, placing the dagger to his throat. His eyes
went wide with shock and fear. "Stay right there, and don't scream. No harm
will come to you." Keeping the metal of the dagger on the soft skin of his
chest, I knelt down and picked up the sword he was carrying. I threw it
back about twenty feet, making sure it was out of the way. Then I backed
away a few steps and picked up some rope from my backpack. "Put your hands
behind that tree", I instructed him. He obeyed me, like a good little boy,
and I quickly tied his hands tightly behind the bark of the oak tree. Now
that he couldn't escape, I threw the dagger down to the ground.

   "What are you going to do with me?", he asked, his voice quivering. I
began to undo the straps of his pants, lowering them to his ankles. I
looked up at his penis, still erect. It was a little bit bigger than mine,
with just the tiniest little pubic hairs around the top base. It was
something of a suprise, because his voice was still higher than mine. I
slipped the pants legs off of him and put them off to the side.

   I was just about to start getting dressed, when I took a step back and
looked at the sad, quivering boy in front of me. I wasn't cold enough to do
this to him, not like this.  "I'm going to replace you out there", I said
truthfully. I walked up to him slowly. "But I should reward you, shouldn't
I? Can't just take your clothes and run." I allowed my hands to explore his
chest. His heart was beating fast with fear and dread, but as I caressed
him it slowly relaxed, his breathing becoming more heavy and rythmic. I
smiled up at him. "Shall I reward you?"

   His slight nod was all the answer I needed. I knelt down and took his
erection into my mouth, feeling the thickness of it press against the ends
of my lips. Once I had a deep respect for sex, a belief that it was a
sacred expression of true love. But... well, recent events put an end to
that rather quickly. Now I wasn't sure what I thought about it. I enjoyed
the taste of his dick, the skin of it so smooth and silky as it slid across
the roof of my mouth and the top of my tounge. I even enjoyed the pre-cum
that began to ooze from the slit at the top, something that Cedra's had
never done. But it had no deep, spiritual meaning. I wasn't doing this for
love of the boy... heck, I didn't even know his name. I was doing it to
make myself feel better about scaring him half to death and stealing from
him.

   "Yeah", he moaned, "oh wow, keep going...." His hips were thrusting
along with me. I could tell that he wanted to put his hands on the back of
my head, but my restraints made that impossible. I brought him to climax,
quickly swallowing a very trace amount of some kind of hot liquid that
ejected from him. It was somewhat salty, but it tasted good. Was it cum? I
assumed so, but I didn't think it came out when you weren't trying to make
a baby. Or was this boy, perhaps, trying to procreate with me? I realized
that there was an aspect of sex I knew very little about. Could I actually
have a child this way, by swallowing his cum? I'd never heard of a male
having a child, and I knew that adult males did this with one another all
the time. But if I couldn't have the baby, then what was happening to the
sperm inside me? Did I just kill thirty million people?!?!?

   I brushed off the confusion that the experience had brought me - there
was already more than enough confusion in my life, and I was getting
disturbingly good at brushing it aside and focusing on what I did know. It
was a wonderful skill for a crisis, but if I kept it up I would never learn
anything new, and I knew that. I let his limpening penis slip from my
mouth, and didn't envy the way my dripping saliva must have made it feel
all cold and wet. And he couldn't wipe it off.

   I left him that way. I'm not sure why - a punishment for confusing me so
much, perhaps?  But I gave him one more kiss on the lips, said "Thanks",
and then wordlessly began getting into his clothes.

Chapter 45

   I slipped into the soldiers' formation easily enough, and the man who
had asked "me" to hurry up didn't notice the change in hair color. I tried,
as discreetly as possible, to slip up the marching ranks. I did so with
more success than expected, pretensing a need to speak with the commander
whenever anyone ordered me back in line. I stepped with ease to the side of
the officer who I assumed to be leading the Garrison.

   She was a stocky fighter with a gigantic two-handed sword strapped to
her back. Her armor was a gleaming plate mail, crafted from one of the
finer blacksmiths in her country, no doubt. She stood over a foot taller
than I did, with dark hair coming back into a ponytail and clanging
silently against her armor as she walked. With her was a young man, dressed
in studded leather armor and carrying a lantern and a map. His light hair
glew in the light of the lantern as he spoke. "We're looking at about two
hours travel, ma'am. We don't think the village is going to put up much
resistance."

   "Well", she said, smiling evilly into the darkness, "it's been a long
time since I occupied a village. This is going to be tremendous amounts of
fun. Lots of decisions to make."

   My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what I'd heard. At that
moment, I could see Tarus and the others following along the bank. I pulled
away with the same peeing excuse, darting into the bushes to meet them.

   "They're headed for that sweet, innocent village!" I cried. "They're
going to take it over!" Tyrin could see that it was causing me some
concern, and he tried to console me. He puts his arms around, trying to hug
me, but I pulled away quickly. I didn't want to be consoled, and I still
wasn't ready to open up to him.

   "Terrible", Dejana said, shaking her head. "Those poor kids."

   I looked at her pleadingly. "We have to do something."

   Tarus laughed nervously. "Do WHAT, kid? We're pretty good, but THOSE",
he said, pointing to the travelling caravan, "are three hundred ground
soldiers. A platoon representing a much larger army that I'd rather not
piss off." His words rang true, I knew.

   Tyrin nodded his agreement. "I know very little of the third fragment's
location", he said, "but one thing I'm sure of is that it's in Pibincram
territory. We're going to have to go there sometime, and it would be better
if our descriptions were not on wanted posters everywhere."

   I shook my head, more resolved than ever. "I don't care. We have to at
least go ahead and warn them." Tyrin put his hands on my shoulders.

   "Arin", he calmly stated, "if we go back, we'll lose our head start on
Cedra and his group. He already has the first fragment... he can't be
allowed to obtain any more."

   "We'll be fine", I said. "Cedra's group is three hours back and to the
west. Even if they started moving as soon as the sun went down, they'd be a
couple of hours behind us."

   Dejana grabbed me roughly and swung me around to face her. "You KNEW
where they were?" She loosened her grip a bit, answering her own
question. "Of course. That's why you wanted to leave camp early. You knew
they were right near us." She looked upset that I hadn't said anything, but
she didn't say anything more on it.

   For the first time in awhile, Rath piped up. "If they're tracing our
steps, they're going to go through the village too. They should get there
at the same time as we do.  We have the grounds for a very interesting
trap, here."

   I still wasn't too keen on the idea of seeing Cedra killed. But he'd
have been the first to tell me that a whole village was at stake. "Yes, a
trap. The villagers can help us. It's--"

   "It's a good plan", a voice behind me said. Suddenly, crossbows were
pointed at us from all directions. I realized my fatal mistake - I had been
away from the platoon too long. Someone had come looking for me. The voice
that spoke - a slightly older guy with a bare chest and a tattoo, smiled.
"Well, with a couple of alterations it's a good plan, anyway."

--------------------------------------------------

   As always, comments are welcome. Let me know if there's enough detail in
the storyline, I went back over this one a couple of times and wasn't very
happy with the "backdrop" part of it. I'll explore it in the next part. ;)